José Bowen: Producing Transformative Learning

[Acoustic guitar strums] >> So technology allows you to push first exposure and content outside of the classroom But a question I always get is "Well

How are students going to do this?" They cannot watch a video as easily as they can not do the reading So technology allows you to give an exam before every class, so that's what I do So at Biola, you have Canvas

Canvas will allow you both to send email to all of your students, and also to design quick little quizzes, right? So I try a little bit of both The first thing, the first day of class, don't ever hand out a syllabus Because otherwise, they start looking through it and figuring out how many pages, right? So the first thing you do is, "This is a class, I hope you'll enjoy, here's the motivation part, here's what's interesting about this, here's what's going to change your life" And in my class that's what you should spend the first day doing I'll email you the syllabus in an hour

Or, I'll post it in Canvas When I post the syllabus in Canvas in an hour, you then have to go, and by the way there will be a link there for the first quiz The quiz is on the syllabus and it's due an hour before the next class So now I've established a couple things I've established that you need to spend time outside of class going to Canvas, or reading your email or being on whatever platform you're most comfortable with, but the student then now has to go read the syllabus outside of class

And I know some of you still read the syllabus 'cause that's what the kids tell me at Biola They say "Some of my professors read the syllabus on the first day" So, don't do that Keep the syllabus outside of class, that prepares them for second one "Oh, actually I'm gonna be having to work outside of class

" Then there's an exam So the exam that I want you to give is an exam that's gonna tell you where the students are Ask just a couple of multiple choice questions, something easy so you don't have to do a lot of grading But in Canvas and any system, you can ask questions and then get feedback, so you can build in feedback for the students, but you can also get results So I make them due an hour before the next class, which means that I have all information–aha! "This question was really hard, that question was really easy, that's what I need to focus on, students are really confused about this, they didn't get that bit at all, I need to think about something in class that deals with this

" So I'm looking for exam questions, and I make them worth a few points, I wouldn't make them worth too much But they're also an example of low stakes assessment They're a little like a video game 'cause a video game is a series little tests So a little test before every class, they're worth a couple of points, or a micro-point, so every one was worth a half a point, or a tenth of a point, nobody's gonna argue too much about what they got right or wrong which allows you to ask more interesting questions I like to use balloon levels to actually get them to think more critically about this

So I might say, "The following are all quotes from the article you read Which one was most important for the main argument? Which of these was least impressive? Or which these would be the easiest to refute? These are all facts, which of these are most important in arguing for, which would you use to argue against?" The world is open-book so my questions are all open-book, which means I don't wanna ask you questions that Siri could answer I don't wanna ask you questions that I can Google So I often will say, "The following are all true statements The following are all quotes from the article, the following are all important statements, which are most useful for making the argument that was made?" Because then Siri can't answer, you have to answer

But you also have to think before you comment So one way to get students to do this before they come to class, is to use your Canvas to send email, to have some kind of social media platform to give them exams, but you might also give them an assignment that can be altered So for example, prepare for a project that's then gonna be changed I teach Arts Entrepreneurship so I don't know if you have that in Biola, but I teach this course And so the dancers and the painters and the musicians

And so okay, you're a painter, you wanna make a living at painting So I say "So, think about all of the things you could do with your painting So well, I guess, could you make portraits of dogs? Make a list of those things, like wedding portraits, what are you gonna do?" So they make a list and they bring it to class And I say, "Okay, so now you've got this list, how much should you charge?" I don't know, what's what the internet is for So pretend you wanna buy a dog portrait

Go online and figure out how much it costs to have a picture of your dog painted And make a list, I give them a few minutes Then I say, "So now, take that and go around the room, see who can sell the most stuff So you've got ballet lessons, and you've got this, just go sell stuff and I give people virtual money or whatever But now the kid that wasn't prepared, [Mockingly] Well I don't have a price

I said, "So you have to sit over here and watch but this fun thing is gonna happen" Class is for the interactive, hands-on Every class should be like a studio or like a lab But I can use social media to push stuff out of the classroom So you might take a minute to think about an assignment or a writing that you can do for students outside of class

So you've got some content now, you've found some content, so if you're doing covalent bonds or abnormal psychology or whatever it is You've got your entry point, now think: "What am I gonna do once I read the article, or once I watch the video?" So you could either open up Canvas and write an exam, or you could think about a prompt for your index card For prompts, do something specific Don't just say what did you like, what did you not like Give students a much more specific prompt, find a quote, do something

Or find an assignment, what's an assignment they could do outside of class that you might bring into class, that you might then alter? >> Narrator: Biola University offers a variety of biblically-centered degree programs Ranging from business, to ministry, to the arts and sciences Visit biolaedu to find out how Biola could make a difference in your life